Originally published at National Catholic Register
Sometimes it just takes moving across the world to understand the value of a sacramental marriage. At least that’s what it took for Eddelyn and Mario John, two recent arrivals to Canada from the Philippines. They were one of 19 couples whose marriages were sacramentally blessed at the Marriage Mass at St. Mary’s in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, one of three such events across the archdiocese this year.
In total 121 couples had their marriages convalidated this year in the archdiocese, a substantial increase from last year’s 42.
Eddelyn and Mario met almost two decades ago while Eddelyn was working at a farm supply store where Mario would come to purchase feed. Things developed quickly, and the couple married after only three months of courting.
Eddelyn and Mario John prepare to walk down the aisle with 18 other couples at the Marriage Mass at St. Mary’s Church in Vancouver on Oct. 19, 2024. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The B.C. Catholic
At the time, the couple embodied a certain cultural Catholicism. Mario’s family urged them to have a church wedding, but they declined.
“I always said we were good — it’s OK,” Eddelyn recalled. “As long as we always go to church every Sunday,
